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Tall and hardy, Telamont had diminished little in stature over his millennia long existence.[1] In public, he cultivated his imposing figure by proudly wearing the traditional dark armor of the Netherese Empire. He wore robe of deep purple over the draconic overmantle and artistic vambraces of the armor.[6]

Telamont has a great love of Netherese culture and has sought to preserve it even when his subjects and he were forced onto the Demiplane of Shadow. His unwavering determination to rule the city means that he considers himself to be the true embodiment of the city's culture, laws and beliefs. Telamont's composure was such that it was near impossible to get a bead on what he was truly thinking or feeling and he had an unwavering eye for easily seeing through the facades of others.[1]

Born in -645 DR[2], Telamont became a student at the Academy of Mentalist Study in Eileanar under the moniker, Shadow.[7] As he grew in ability he was credited with creating numerous spells based around shadow magic.[8] During his time at the academy Telamont published work that postulated the existance of demiplanes, unfortunately for Shadow his ideas were considered at completely at odds with the existing models of the planes and he was soon exiled.[7]

Luckily the ruler of Eilenar, Karsus, decided to grant Shadow sanctuary and bequeathed him the Shadow Consortium to continue his research. Well-warded by Karsus' magic, Shadow gathered other 'fringe' researchers to help him and after 11 years he was ready. With Karsus' blessing, Shadow published his work on the demiplane of shadow called Shadows: The Palpable Cohesion of Formless Corporeality. This new work proved the existance of demiplanes and quasielemental planes without undermining the exisiting planar mechanics. It was such a success that all restrictions on demiplane research were lifted and Shadow was released from all charges.[9] In addition, attendance to the Academy of Mentalist Study rose by 30% for the next 5 years when it was revealed that Shadow had studied there.[10]

However, in -390 DR, Shadow found himself romantically entangled with a bard from Xinlenal called Alashar Crywinds. Despite all charges for his work being lifted many years earlier, Alashar had been secretly assigned by the archwizard Grenway to kill Shadow. When this was revealed to Shadow, both he and Alashar found they were unable to kill each other and instead managed to stage their death's with the use of a simulacrum. Successful in their ruse, the two married and traveled together to the Plane of Shadow.[2]

Telamont Tanthul (under his guise of Lord Shadow) was Thultanthar's archwizard before Karsus's Folly, and had been experimenting with the Plane of Shadow for some time beforehand. He had successfully shifted the entire city into the Plane of Shadow mere days before Karsus cast Karsus's Avatar and temporarily destroyed the Weave in the -339 DR. For some reason though, Tanthul could not move the city back to the Prime Material Plane. It took weeks, but eventually, they managed to return to Netheril, or at least what was left of it. Searching for survivors for days, the city floated over the ruins of the Netherese empire. Finding none, Tanthul assumed it was the work of the Phaerimm and began planning his revenge. He stopped though, when he realized that one city was not a match for them and that his subjects were likely the last of the empire's people. He abandoned those plans and retreated back into the Plane of Shadow, vowing that one day, they would return and reestablish the empire. The city's clerics of Shar cast divinations and saw what had really happened, but only informed the noble families, presumably on the whim of Shar herself for some reason. The excursion into the Plane of Shadow, due to unforeseen circumstances has lasted much longer than Tanthul anticipated. So for over 1,700 years, the inhabitants had battled the Malaugrym and the other shadowy horrors of the realm, while each generation became gradually more attuned to the plane itself, becoming what are later known as Shadovar.[11]

In 1372 DR he returned to Faerûn as High Prince Telamont Tanthul and leader of the City of Shade, which is synonymous with Thultanthar. When he considers the time to be right, Telamont planned to reveal to the Shadovar the fact that he is the Lord Shadow of legend, inspiring them to victory.[11]

Well over two millennia old, Telamont preserved his life by means of powerful magic, such as wish spells. This process had been made easier by virtue of the fact that he is no longer human, but rather an outsider. The natural life span of a shade was many times longer that that of an ordinary human. However, Telamont acknowledged reluctantly that as his outsider body began to fail, stronger measures were required to keep him alive. He had not yet decided on the best means of continuing his existence, but the Shadovar's return to Faerûn offered a wealth of possibilities, including transformation into an undead creature.[12] It was revealed in the novel "The Sorcerer" (in 1372 DR) that Tanthul is now composed of pure shadow magic.[citation needed]